SmartMembranes, founded in 2009 by Dr. Petra Göring and Monika Lelonek in Halle (Saale), is the world's leading manufacturer of porous, high-order materials made of aluminum oxide and silicon with defined adjustable membrane properties and structure parameters. In addition to the production of membranes based on customer requirements, the development of new processes and products related to the core business is another important pillar.

Our standard products SmartPor and MakroPor are characterized by a highly ordered structure and narrow pore diameter distribution. The structure parameters, such as pore size, lattice constant, porosity and membrane thickness can be adjusted at the nanometer level according to customer requirements.

What do you like about the Weinberg Campus?

We are a spin-off of the Fraunhofer Institute for Microstructure of Materials and Systems IMWS in Halle. The existing infrastructure at the site, with a large number of R&D facilities such as the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, the Max-Planck Institute for Microstructure Physics or the Fraunhofer IMWS, enables close cooperation and networking.

At the Weinberg Campus Technology Park, real entrepreneurs are at work who strive for economic success with a great deal of passion and expertise. Their openness and curiosity is the basis for a lively exchange of ideas, which is lived beyond the monthly meeting of the executive board.
The good atmosphere is also fostered by the team of Technology Park Managing Director Ulf-Marten Schmieder, who is always on hand to advise and support start-ups.

The Weinberg Campus Technology Park is a meeting place where knowledge can be exchanged in a variety of ways.
 Experienced managers meet young daredevils at seminars and events, creative minds meet cool expertise, market experts meet new ideas. This exchange provides valuable impulses and opens doors to potential customers, business partners and investors for start-ups.

What do you want from an entrepreneurial point of view and from a very personal perspective for the Weinberg Campus?

In the Weinberg Campus Technology Park, the good infrastructure does not end once you close the office door. It offers a whole package of services, some of which are even included in the rent. So that there is no shortage of anything when you're not working, we would like to expand this in the future. Restaurants, a fitness center, a Pilates studio and a nursery are indispensable in this sense. In short: The Weinberg Campus Technology Park is an excellent place to work and live.

What do you personally associate with the Weinberg Campus location?

Dr. Petra Göring: The Weinberg Campus has been with me for half my life. When I started studying chemistry in 1989/90 I came to Halle. The reunification was initiated and an exciting and moving period of change began. For me, this was the ideal prerequisite for free development and optimal conditions after successful completion of my doctorate. I had the opportunity to work at various scientific institutions such as MLU, MPI and Fraunhofer IWMS before we set up our own company - SmartMembranes GmbH - here at the campus in TGZ III in 2009.

Monika Lelonek: My time in Halle started with the Weinberg Campus. At that time I was still living in Münster and together with Petra, we developed the idea for the foundation and the business plan during regular visits to the Fraunhofer Institute. I moved here once we actually founded the company. So you can call the campus my new home.